Mohave County is located in the northwest corner of Arizona, the county seat is Kingman, and it also contains the somewhat newer 'river city' known as Bullhead City, which is across the Colorado River from Laughlin, Nevada. Hoover Dam is also partly included in the county due to it being built to dam the Colorado River to create Lake Mead. The word 'Mohave' is a variant spelling of 'Mojave'.

Parent County

Until 1821 - New Spain controlled land that later would become Arizona. Some records of early settlers may have been sent to an archives in Seville, Spain, or to archives in Mexico City.

In 1821 - Mexico obtained jurisdiction over the land that later would become Arizona. Records of this period may have been sent to archives in Mexico City.

10 Nov 1864 - Mohave County was created as one of the four original counties in Arizona. County seat: Kingman [8][9] This county named for Mojave Indians. Look for records in Mohave County.

Boundary Changes

22 Dec 1865 - Arizona created Pah-Ute County (extinct) from the northern half of Mohave County.[10] This county named for the Paiute Indians, using the spelling of that day. Both Mohave and Pah-Ute counties covered land which was later given to Nevada. Look for records in Mohave County.

5 May 1866 - The US removed the northwest corner from Arizona Territory (parts of Pah-Ute (extinct) and Mohave counties) and gave that land to the State of Nevada.[11] Nevada used that land by adding to Lincoln and Nye counties. But Arizona held to its previous claim on that land and opposed this transfer, twice petitioning congress to repeal the law. Up thru 1868, representatives from Pah-Ute County (extinct) attended the Arizona Legislature. Look for records in Nevada State Library and Archives and Arizona State Library. Also the Lincoln, Nye, and Mohave counties.

18 Feb 1871 - Arizona discontinued Pah-Ute County (extinct).[12] In effect, withdrawing claim to the southeastern corner of Nevada after exhausting all legal recourse. The remnant of Pah-Ute County (extinct) still in Arizona was returned to Mohave County. Look for records in Mohave County.

See also Previous Jurisdictions to land in Arizona showing dates the jurisdictions were created and maps. This will help in determining what jurisdiction your ancestor lived in and where the records are now located.

Census

Church

Church records and the information they provide vary significantly depending on the denomination and the record keeper. They may contain information about members of the congregation, such as age, date of baptism, christening, or birth; marriage information and maiden names; and death date. For general information about Arizona denominations, view the Arizona Church Records wiki page.
LDS Ward and Branch Records

Kingman

Littlefield

Moccasin

Mt. Trumbull

Court

Land

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

See Arizona Land and Property for additional information about early Arizona land grants. After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were usually recorded at the county courthouse and where records are currently housed.

Local Histories

Local histories are available for Mohave County, Arizona Genealogy. County histories may include biographies, church, school and government history, and military information. For more information about local histories, see the Wiki page section Arizona Local Histories.

Probate

From 1850 to 1864 during the territorial period, probate records of Arizona were kept by the probate courts of New Mexico. Then until 1912, the records were handled by county probate courts. Since then probate records, such as wills, claims, administrations, case files, and calendars are kept in the custody of the clerk of the superior court in the county courthouse.

The FamilySearch Catalog lists films of probate records. To find the records for this county, use the Subjects Search for Arizona, Mohave - Probate records.